Neal Juster: Driving plans for growth and prosperity in Lincolnshire with Town Deals
How the University of Lincoln is helping to deliver growth and prosperity across the county
University of Lincoln Vice Chancellor Neal Juster | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
By Neal JusterVice Chancellor at the University of Lincoln
My last article for The Lincolnite touched on how the University can help deliver on the levelling up agenda. Following a recent round-table discussion, led by former cabinet minister Justine Greening and attended by leaders in industry, education and health from across the county, I was pleased to see Justine agree that the University of Lincoln should be ‘at the heart’ of enabling the region to level up.
To truly deliver levelling up across Lincoln and Greater Lincolnshire, this ambition needs to be matched with determination and indeed funding to deliver the types of projects that can transform the area. This is where the Government’s Towns Fund is significant. Greater Lincolnshire has been awarded a total of £131 million from the £3.6 billion fund, with six towns – Lincoln, Boston, Grimsby, Mablethorpe, Scunthorpe, and Skegness – all successfully securing deals.
The prospect of funding has seen ambitious plans and projects developed. Such plans not only address longstanding issues experienced across those towns and the county as whole, including connectivity and health inequality, but aim to put our region in the best possible position to maximise its strengths and deliver prosperity for the people and businesses who call it home.
Crucial to delivery is partnerships and bridging the public and private sectors effectively to help ensure success. That is something I believe we at the University are uniquely placed to assist with. Our record for cross sector collaboration is something we’re very proud of and we will continue to use our experience and expertise to help partners deliver on their town deal ambitions.
The University is represented on all the County’s Town Deal boards. The role of these boards is to translate the ideas originally submitted for funding into concrete, delivered projects. The boards allow us to engage directly with our various public and private sector partners and share the expertise and experience of our staff as the projects develop.
We’re also taking a more hands-on approach, serving as a delivery partner on several projects. This includes the Barbican Hotel redevelopment in Lincoln which will see the beautiful but derelict hotel transformed to support our growing creative sector. Developed in partnership with Lincolnshire Co-op, the Barbican Creative Hub will host a public gallery space to exhibit and create work, along with a range of studios which will be made available to creative freelancers. The facility will enable us to nurture and retain local talent in one of the area’s emerging sectors, it will have a genuine positive impact on our city. Construction work has begun and the site was visited by Lord Parkinson, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Arts, at the end of April.
In Lincoln we are also supporting the delivery of the Lincoln Made Smarter scheme, which focusses on supporting Lincoln based SMEs to adopt new digital technologies. This project will take advantage of the fantastic existing relationships the University has with local businesses and assist them in driving productivity and will further support economic growth.
Further afield, the University is supporting the Connect Coast Town Deal board, which is delivering projects across Mablethorpe and Skegness, with their Campus for Future Living in Mablethorpe. The Campus will serve as centre for innovation and training in the health sector and promoting job creation and self-employment opportunities, while helping fill vacancies for local clinicians. The ultimate aim of the project is to help address health inequalities in our coastal communities. The core building for the project has reached the final stages of design and construction is expected to commence soon.
These projects, and the many others being delivered in all six places that have benefitted from a town deal will be crucial in helping to start levelling up Lincolnshire. We also have to ensure this funding has a legacy. Again, this is an area in which I believe the University can play an important role. We’re focussed on upskilling people, attracting and retaining talent within the county to ensure that partners supporting projects have access to talented, qualified individuals who are able to create impact that goes beyond the initial investment. Our world-renowned academics and research teams can also help to ensure partners and businesses across the county have access to the latest insights and information they need to tackle emerging issues.
The Towns Fund has provided Lincolnshire with an opportunity to deliver much needed infrastructure. The University is committed to playing our part in delivering them, as well as driving progress and continuous growth in the region. This will continue to be important as the Government announces new funding to help regions via the Shared Prosperity Fund. Initial allocations have already been announced for 2022/23 (North East Lincolnshire £6.2 million, North Lincolnshire £6.5 million, Boston £2.2 million, East Lindsey £4.4 million, Lincoln £2.8 million, North Kesteven £3.2 million, South Holland £2.7 million, South Kesteven £3.9 million, West Lindsey £2.7 million, Lincolnshire £4 million) but bids for how to spend the money in line with the fund’s objectives need to be made by the relevant authorities. The University will work with our partners to help shape, and then deliver, these projects.
Professor Neal Juster is Vice Chancellor of the University of Lincoln
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A woman living in her car, a man with £30,000 debts and a mum-of-three struggling to get by are among the thousands of people who have turned to Citizens Advice Lincolnshire.
A surge in calls as energy bills soar has left the service unable to help everyone.
Around 14,500 Lincolnshire people in the 2021/22 financial year received help overall with 70,000 different issues – a significant rise from the previous year.
The service is answering more questions than ever before, and it says it doesn’t have the resources to meet the growing demand.
The scale of the crisis has been laid out in a report to go before Lincolnshire County Council next week.
Among the success stories are a woman who had contemplated suicide because she was living in her car with no one to turn to. Citizens Advice Lincolnshire helped her to get a new home.
A man suffering from anxiety due to his £30,000 debt was given help in applying for a debt relief order.
A struggling mum who was behind on her energy bills was supported in applying for £300 of energy vouchers, which she said would help her to cope.
There has been a big increase is people asking the service for help with debt, Universal Credit and tax credits, according to the report.
Energy bills are going through the roof for many households and organisations. | Photo: Adobe Stock
As bills rose in the last quarter of the financial year, more people also enquired about food and fuel vouchers.
Nearly 2,400 people were given help with Universal Credit in the last quarter of the 2021/22 financial year alone.
The advice service says:“Demand has significantly increased in quarter four. This is mainly due to cost-of-living enquiries and dealing with the Household Support Fund. We have answered more calls than ever before, but [are] still unable to meet the increased demand due to a lack of resource.
“Although we did receive some modest funding provided via LCC Household Support Fund to answer calls, demand was so high that we were unable to meet it.
“Waiting times currently for generalist and debt appointments can be up to three weeks, due to increased demand and limited resources.”
The service has also warned the price of the cheapest food is jumping rapidly.
The report will be discussed by the council’s Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday, May 31.
The PRSA Mass Vaccination Centre in Boston will be running a series of walk-in sessions for children aged five to 15 to get their COVID-19 jabs during half-term next week.
This will be in addition to the now regular pop-up vaccination sessions around the county, a number of which will continue to offer vaccinations to children in these age groups without the need for an appointment.
For those who prefer to book an appointment, rather than attend a pop-up or walk-in session, this can be done by visiting the National Booking System or by calling 119.
The team at PRSA will be offering the following walk-in vacations for five to 11-year-olds and 12 to 15-year-olds:
Five to 11-year-olds
Tuesday, May 31 (4pm-6pm)
Friday, June 3 (10am-1.30pm)
Sunday, June 5 (10am-1.30pm)
12 to 15-year-olds
Monday, May 30 (4.30pm-7.30pm)
Tuesday, May 31 (4.30pm-7.30pm)
Wednesday, June 1 (4.30pm-7.30pm)
Thursday, June 2 (10am-1.30pm)
Saturday, June 4 (10am-1.30pm)
Rebecca Neno, director of COVID and influenza vaccination programmes for NHS Lincolnshire CCG, said: “We try and time our pop-up sessions where possible to allow for school-aged children to attend and, of course, half-term week gives us more flexibility to be able to do this.
“The pop-up sessions allow us to take the vaccination out to people and our new vaccination bus will help hugely with this, but the key benefit the pop-ups bring – including those for school-aged children – is that no appointment is necessary.
“Whether you’re coming along to get vaccinated yourself or you are bringing your child for their vaccination, you can just turn up without pre-booking. All that we ask if you are bringing your child to be vaccinated is that, as their parent/guardian, you are present to consent.”
Other pop-up walk-in sessions in Lincolnshire
Saturday, May 28 at Franklin Hall, Halton Road in Spilsby – between 4pm and 6pm for spring boosters for people aged 75 and over, plus vaccinations for anyone eligible aged 16 and over, and also for 5-11 year-olds and 12-15 year-olds.
Saturday, May 28 at Nettleham Village Hall, Brookfield Avenue in Nettleham – between 10am and 1pm for spring boosters for people aged 75 and over, plus vaccinations for anyone eligible aged 16 and over, and between 1.30pm and 4pm for 12-15 year-olds.
Sunday, May 29 at Springfields Events and Conference Centre, Camel Gate in Spalding – between 10am and 4pm for 5-11 year-olds only.
Sunday, May 29 at Ruston Sports and Social Club, Newark Road in Lincoln – between 10.30am and 4pm for 5-11 year-olds only.
Sunday, May 29 at Sainsbury’s, Tritton Road in Lincoln (vaccination bus) – between 10.30am and 3.30pm for spring boosters for people aged 75 and over, plus vaccinations for anyone eligible aged 18 and over.
Monday, May 30 at The Venue in Navenby – between 10.30am and 1pm for spring boosters for people aged 75 and over, plus vaccinations for anyone eligible aged 16 and over, and between 1.30pm and 4.30pm for 5-11 year-olds and 12-15 year-olds.
Monday, May 30 at Gainsborough Adventure Playground, Riseholme Road, Gainsborough – between 11am and 4pm for 5-11 year-olds only.
Tuesday, May 31 at Stickney Youth Centre, Stickney, Boston – between 9am and 5pm for 5-11 year-olds and anyone eligible aged 12 and over.
Tuesday, May 31 at Nettleham Village Hall, Brookfield Avenue in Nettleham – between 10.30am and 1pm for spring boosters for people aged 75 and over, plus vaccinations for anyone eligible aged 16 and over, and between 1.30pm and 4.30pm for 5-11 year-olds and 12-15 year-olds.
Tuesday, May 31 at St Marks Square (Vaccination Bus) – between 10am and 3.30pm for 5-11 year-olds only.
Wednesday, June 1 at Stanhope Hall, Boston Road in Horncastle – between 9am and 1pm for spring boosters for people aged 75 and over, plus vaccinations for anyone eligible aged 18 and over, and between 1pm and 6pm for 5-11 year-olds and anyone eligible aged 16 and over.
Wednesday, June 1 at St Faiths Parish Hall, West Parade, Lincoln – between 10.30am and 1pm for spring boosters for people aged 75 and over, plus vaccinations for anyone eligible aged 16 and over, and between 1.30pm and 4.30pm for 5-11 year-olds and 12-15 year-olds.
Wednesday, June 1 at Whisby Nature Park, Moor Lane, Thorpe on the Hill (Vaccination Bus) – between 10.30am and 3.30pm for 5-11 year-olds only.
Thursday, June 2 at Ruston Sports and Social Club, Newark Road in Lincoln – between 10.30am and 1pm for spring boosters for people aged 75 and over, plus vaccinations for anyone eligible aged 16 and over, and between 1.30pm and 4.30pm for 5-11 year-olds and 12-15 year-olds.
Thursday, June 2 at Tesco, Water Mill Road in Horncastle (Vaccination Bus) – between 10.30am and 3.30pm for 5-11 year-olds only.
Friday, June 3 at X Church, St Johns, St Johns Terrace, Church Street, Gainsborough – between 10.30am and 4pm for 5-11 year olds only.
Saturday, June 4 at The Ruby Hunt Centre, Church Street, Donington, Spalding – between 9am and 5pm for 5-11 year-olds and anyone eligible aged 12 and over.
Saturday, June 4 at The Venue, Navenby – between 10.30am and 4.30pm for 5-11 year-olds only.
Sunday, June 5 at Springfields Events and Conference Centre, Camel Gate in Spalding – between 10am and 4pm for 5-11 year-olds only.
Sunday, June 5 at The Engine Shed, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln – between 10.30am and 1pm for spring boosters for people aged 75 and over, plus vaccinations for anyone eligible aged 16 and over, and between 1.30pm and 4.30pm for 5-11 year-olds and 12-15 year-olds.